An Adaptive-Transmission Protocol for Frequency-Hop Wireless Communication Networks

An energy-efficient adaptive-transmission protocol for mobile frequency-hop spread-spectrum wireless communication networks is described and evaluated. The purpose of the protocol is to permit each of the mobile terminals to adjust its transmitter power and code rate to match the characteristics of the time-varying communication links in the network. The proposed adaptive-transmission protocol bases its choice of transmission parameters on a very simple form of side information that is easy to obtain in a FH communication receiver. The performance of the adaptive-transmission protocol is evaluated for networks in which each communication link may have a time-varying propagation loss and intermittent partial-band interference. Our results demonstrate that the adaptive-transmission protocol can improve the utility of a link and reduce energy consumption by adjusting the transmission parameters in response to changes in the side information.